Love Heals the Broken Heart
by TTAvatarfan
Summary: AU. Love can heal even the most broken of hearts, and Aang is about to find out how powerful a  girl named Katara and her family's love can be.


**A/N: I'm telling you, I've never had inspiration strike me so hard or so fast as it did for this one, so I just had to write it. And I must say, I was inspired by Mexman1993 and his story for this one, so the plot may sound a little similar, but I tried to make it different. So anyway, my first modern AU. Enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I own a few pairs of shoes, DVDs and a CD player, but I don't own Avatar. Life is just so cruel!**

**Member of the Aang Fangirl Squad: Kumori Doragon, libowiekitty, Aechigo, TTAvatarfan, Invaderk, Twilight Rose2, KataangNutyBabe, goldenwing57 and Mrs. Weasly the Kataang luver**

Aang's lungs were burning as he raced up the street, but he still didn't stop running. He _couldn't_ stop. He had to get away from here as fast as he could before anyone discovered he was missing.

The boy kept running, narrowly missing a car as it swerved past him, the driver honking its horn angrily and screaming intelligibly. But Aang kept right on going, and he didn't stop until he spotted a dark alley. Without thinking twice, he darted down it before he collapsed with his back against the wall, panting.

It seemed like ages before his wildly racing heart calmed down, and the adrenaline fear left behind worked its way out of his system, leaving Aang feeling exhausted.

Why on earth had he decided to run away again? Oh yeah…because his mother was dead.

_Dead…_

Aang shivered and pulled his knees up to his chest as the dark of the night began to descend upon him, remembering all too well the events that had taken place within the last 24 hours…

It had started like any normal day. Aang had raced out the door as the school bus had come hurtling down the road, but not before his mother had given him a quick kiss on the cheek and had told him to be careful.

And of course, he had responded with the usual, "Mom, I'm 12, not 2. I'm not a baby anymore."

And his mother would smile as usual, and reply, "You'll always be my baby, Aang, no matter how old you get."

The boy would smile at her, before boarding the bus and watching her through the window as they sped down the road once again.

The school day had been completely normal too. He had said hi to his friends at his locker, and laughed at whatever jokes they would come up with, and of course make fun of the history teacher and how she cleared her throat at least 370 times in class.

Everything had been normal, until he had gotten home.

Police cars had been lined up all over his street, and "do not cross" tape fenced in his yard. Mouth running dry in horror, Aang had ducked underneath the yellow line of tape and raced across his yard and up the stairs into his house. The moment he entered, all he could see were police officers, in every room of his house.

"Mom?" he had called out, his dark grey eyes searching desperately for her as he walked room to room until he reached the kitchen.

And then he stopped dead in horror.

His mother was lying dead in the middle of the kitchen floor, blood pooling around her, and police officers surrounding her. Several stab wounds were present on her body. Aang paled and he felt as if he might throw up.

The boy made a small, pathetic mew in his throat that caught the attention of one of the police officers. He had stood up immediately and asked, "Are you Aang Garaygo?"

Aang nodded numbly.

"Come with me then."

The rest was all a blur from there, but Aang remembered bits and pieces. His mother had been stabbed to death by an escaped convict when she tried to protect her valuables. And now… since he had no known relatives, they were going to put him in a foster home.

_No…_

Aang had heard of foster homes, where kids were abused from sunup to sundown, and picked on mercilessly by the other kids that lived there. No, that wasn't going to be him.

As soon as the officer had dismissed him, Aang had run up to his room, thrown a few of his precious belongings into his bag, and taken off under the cover of night before anyone could catch him.

And now here he was, sitting in a cold, dark alley with nothing more than the clothes on his back and a few things in his bag.

The boy shivered again, feeling cold and hungry, since he hadn't eaten anything since lunch. But at least, he figured, life on the streets was better than being shoved into some foster home.

Only problem was, he had very few street smarts, and had little idea of what he was doing.

Sighing and deciding he was tired, Aang lay down and curled up in an effort to keep warm, hugging his bag to his stomach, which was currently growling at him because it was so empty.

_At least things can't get any worse…_

Just then, a peal of thunder sounded overhead, and rain began to fall steadily down.

However, it quickly turned into a downpour. Groaning and curling up tighter, Aang closed his eyes as the rain soaked him to the bone and waited for sleep to come, all the while wishing for his own warm bed at home.

ooo

Aang opened his eyes blearily the next morning, not even remembering falling asleep, and not feeling like he had either. Still exhausted, he sat up slowly, his back and neck feeling stiff from lying down on the hard, unforgiving ground.

His next feelings were ones of intense hunger and thirst, his body reminding him that he still hadn't eaten or had anything to drink since yesterday. The more primal part of his brain insisted that he should go and look for something to fill his empty stomach, but the more rational part also reminded him that he had neglected to bring any money with him.

"Perfect," he mumbled under his breath. Now how was he going to get something to eat? He supposed he could earn the money somehow, but someone might recognize him and take him back to the police to be put in a foster home. He couldn't risk that.

Well, the first step was to get up and look around.

Getting up onto stiff legs, Aang grabbed his bag quickly and walked slowly out to the end of the alley before looking around the edge. Nothing out of the ordinary; just the usual hustle and bustle of the town in the morning.

Except, he didn't recognize this town.

Aang frowned in confusion. He couldn't have possibly run that far last night, could he? But upon looking around again, he realized that he couldn't recognize any familiar landmarks in this place.

Once again, perfect. Now he had to navigate his way around a strange place while at the same time trying to stay out of sight.

Sighing again, Aang stepped out of the alley and began to walk down the street, hoping he might be able to at least find something good in the garbage.

ooo

It was sundown before Aang dragged himself into another alley. His search for food and water had been in vain. Not even a leftover sandwich in the trash.

Aang gripped his stomach as it rumbled with hunger, sick of hearing it complain, and sick of the feeling of emptiness that plagued it.

The boy plopped down in the far corner of the alley dejectedly. He couldn't remember a day when he hadn't eaten, or when he hadn't slept well. His mother always made sure he was taken care of…

Aang's breath hitched in his throat and he felt tears sting his eyes. However, he forced them back down. He couldn't cry. That would be like admitting his mother was really gone, and he still wanted to believe that she wasn't and that this was all a bad dream. The only solution, he guessed, was to not show any emotion in front of strangers. If he did, he might break the new wall he was building around his heart, and he might cry, submitting to the fact that his mother was truly dead.

No, he wouldn't do that.

A moment later, Aang lay down for another night that would probably involve very little sleep, with only the sound of his growling stomach to listen to.

ooo

How on earth did he find himself here again? Aang couldn't remember. All the he knew was that he had somehow ended up behind this school and a couple of rough looking kids were chasing him around the corner of the building. Another one appeared suddenly in front of him, before he grabbed the poor, defenseless boy and shoved him roughly to the ground. Aang, winded, could only squirm helplessly under the older kid's weight while he felt blows being landed in him.

Suddenly, the weight disappeared, and the sounds of angry shouts came next. Aang shook his head, and when it cleared, he saw three new figures, two girls and a boy.

"We were just roughing him up a little, that's all."

"Shove it, Jet. No one cares what you and your gang do. But this was going too far, picking on a defenseless kid."

"And what are you going to do about it?"

"Go jump off a bridge, jerk!"

"You know, Jet, we can bring a teacher out here right now, get you suspended, and there goes your perfect attendance record."

There was a pause, before the kid named Jet mumbled, "Fine. You win this time. Azula, Hedae, let's go."

The sound of grass rustling was heard next as Jet and the others took off. In the next moment, a girl with dark skin and darker hair appeared in Aang's range of vision as she knelt down beside him.

"Are you okay?" she asked, the utmost concern in her voice.

"Yeah," Aang answered, "I'm fine. Thanks for helping me."

The girl smiled at him, and Aang found himself staring. Spirits, she was beautiful…

"Actually, we should be thanking you," the girl's friend answered. "We've been waiting for months to have an excuse to get the beat down on Jet."

The boy made no remark, other than a nod. Instead, he began to pick himself up, only to have the really pretty girl beside him grab his arm gently and help him up the rest of the way. He felt the blood rush to his head once he was on his feet, and he staggered, his head spinning.

"Easy," the girl told him softly, "They hurt you pretty good."

Once the world stopped moving in front of his eyes, Aang looked up to get his first real look at his rescuers. The girl holding onto him was just a little taller than he was, with a slim figure, braided hair and blue eyes. The two kids behind her were another boy with a lean build and another pair of blue eyes, leading Aang to guess that they were siblings. The other girl was smaller, with a stockier build and milky green eyes.

_She must be blind, _Aang guessed.

"So, are you new here?" the girl asked him. "I've never seen you before."

"No," Aang told her simply.

"Oh," she said, a little surprised, "Well, uh, do you want us to walk you home? Just in case Jet comes back."

At this, the boy turned his head away, his eyes darkening. "Don't have a home," he muttered softly.

The girl's eyes filled with sympathy, and Aang thought he heard her brother gasp.

"You're one of those street kids, aren't you?" her brother said, pointing a finger at him.

Aang shrugged as he answered, "I've only been on the street for two days. I'm not really a street kid."

"You don't look like one," the girl told him, "Your face doesn't look like the other street kids we've seen, you know, all hard and angry. You look too cute and innocent and young to be one of them."

At this, Aang had to blush slightly. She thought he was cute? The thought made him feel a little excited.

After another pause, the girl said somewhat hesitantly, "So…uh…if you don't have anyplace else to go, why don't you come home with my brother and me?"

Aang shook his head. "I couldn't do that..."

"C'mon," she insisted, "You don't look so good anyway, and you look like you could use a good meal and a place to stay for the night."

As fate would have it, another feeble growl sounded from the boy's abdomen, obviously protesting at the thought of having to go another day empty. Aang sighed, giving in. Besides, a good meal and a warm bed sounded better than spending another night in a cold, dark alley hungry.

"Okay," he finally said softly, "Thanks."

The girl smiled, saying, "You're welcome. I'm Katara, by the way. This is my brother Sokka and my friend Toph." She motioned to the older boy and younger girl behind her.

"Aang," the boy told her, giving her his own name.

Katara's smile only grew wider as she said, "It's very nice to meet you, Aang."

ooo

After they had bid their goodbyes to Toph, Katara and Sokka took Aang down the road that led to their house, which luckily wasn't too far from the school. Katara took out her silver key from her bag and stuck it in the lock of the door handle, giving them entrance to the house.

The house itself wasn't that big; just a few rooms and an upstairs that had a few bedrooms. Katara motioned for Aang to sit down at the kitchen table, and he complied. Katara smiled at him again, and turned around, opening various cupboards over the kitchen counters.

"So…do you guys live alone or something?" Aang asked no one in particular after a moment of silence.

"Nah," Sokka answered, tossing his bag on the couch in the other room. He appeared in the kitchen doorway a moment later. "We live with our dad. He just happens to get home from work after we get home from school. He should be home in a couple hours."

"What's he gonna say about a strange kid in the house?" Aang asked, a little worried.

Sokka shrugged. "He shouldn't care, as long as we explain things to him. We bring a lot of our friends over here, so it won't make any difference."

The boy still had his doubts, even though Sokka reassured him. A few moments later, the tantalizing smell of cooking food wafted over from the counter. Aang turn his head towards Katara and saw her coming over with a huge plate of foods of all sorts, making Aang's mouth water at the magnificent sight.

The plate had barely been in front of him for two seconds before the boy tore into it hungrily, not even stopping to savor the taste. It was a wonder he even remembered to breathe between bites.

Meanwhile, Katara had joined her brother, who was currently reclining on the couch and staring his homework down, armed with a pencil and a hard thinking expression on his face. His sister almost laughed at the sight. But instead, she sat down next to him with a sigh before she turned her gaze back to Aang.

"Look how he's wolfing that down, Sokka," she said, concerned. "When was the last time he ate?"

"He said he'd been on the street for a couple days," her brother answered without looking up, "So I'd venture to guess he hasn't eaten in that time. Like you said, he doesn't look like one of those street types."

"I wonder what he's doing on the streets then," Katara wondered aloud.

"Don't ask him," Sokka told her sternly.

The girl turned her head towards him, surprised.

Sokka sensed this, and lifted his head to look at her, his blue eyes piercing hers.

"I'm telling you Katara. Don't ask. He's obviously left for a reason, a reason that may be too painful to talk about. If you want him to be happy staying here, you may just want to bite your tongue, because I know how you can be. He'll talk when he's ready, I promise you."

Katara just eyed him, "How do you know all this? You can barely figure out square route in math, and yet you're telling me to keep my mouth shut on a matter that's none of your business?"

"It's none of yours either," her brother said firmly, "That kid's business is his business, and no one else's. Like I said, there's something he's keeping from us, but he'll talk when he's ready."

Katara sighed reluctantly. Sokka was right for once. Besides, she kinda liked this new kid, and wanted him to stay around for a while so she could get to know him.

The sound of clinking silverware suddenly stopped in the kitchen, and Katara got up from the couch to investigate. Aang was still at the table, the plate in front of him empty. His body was shaking slightly and his eyes were wide as they stared at Katara, looking at her eagerly for more.

"Still hungry?" she asked, already heading towards the counter.

Aang nodded quickly, and Katara smiled as she dished out more food onto his plate. And, once again, Aang devoured it as if it were nothing. In all, it had taken two more helpings before the boy leaned back in his chair slightly, feeling satisfied at last.

"Thanks," he told Katara quietly as she sat down with him, "That was good. You're a good cook."

"Really?" she answered, her eyes lighting up, "I mean, no one has ever really liked my cooking before."

"Well," Aang muttered bashfully, "They're nuts. That was the best thing I've ever tasted."

This caused a blush from both of them, before Katara cleared her throat and said, "Well, I'll clean up. You can…uh…what do you want to do?"

Aang opened his mouth to answer, when the sound of a door handle being turned was heard, making everyone turn their heads in the direction of the kitchen door. Soon, the door opened, and in stepped-

"Dad, you're home!" Katara, exclaimed, surprised. Her father usually didn't get out of work this early.

"I stayed late last night, so they let me home early today," he explained, shutting the door behind him. As soon as he did though, he caught sight of the small boy sitting at the table looking up at him curiously.

"Who's this?" he asked, not unkindly.

"This is Aang," Katara answered her father. "We kinda saved him from Jet. He says he's been on the street for a couple days, so we took him home with us."

"Did you?" he said, raising an eyebrow. He then turned his attention to the boy in question, who had been unusually quiet.

"May I ask what you were doing on the streets?" he asked, his voice still retaining its kind tone.

Aang hesitated, his eyes darkening again at the memory, before he answered in a quiet voice, "With all due respect, I'd rather keep that to myself. It's…just too painful to talk about right now."

Katara's father nodded. "I understand. Until then, stay as long as you like, if you don't have anywhere else to go. I don't mind."

Aang nodded, thoroughly grateful. Maybe he could hang around here for a bit. These people seemed nice after all. Especially Katara…

"So," Sokka asked loudly as he walked in from the living room and hung onto the kitchen doorway, "What are we eating for supper? I'm starving!"

Katara rolled her eyes. "Trust you to think of food first. I guess we could always eat what I made."

Sokka laughed sarcastically. "Yeah, and Florida may freeze over. I swear Katara, that food could wake the dead!"

Katara placed her hands on her hips indignantly. "There's nothing wrong with my cooking! Aang liked it!"

Aang merely watched the pair go back and forth at each other, amused. This must be what it was like to have a sibling. If nothing else, it was great entertainment.

Their father intervened soon, however. "If you are done, I'll make supper myself, and you two can set the table. For now, both of you can go do your homework."

Katara and Sokka sighed in defeat, before Katara suggested, "Aang, you can come in with us, if you'd like."

The boy nodded without hesitation, getting up from the table to follow them.

ooo

It was many hours before supper was ready, but when the three of them were called into the kitchen, they ran like a pack on famished wolves. Even Aang had gotten his second wind, and eaten as hungrily as the rest of them.

Soon, they were all sitting down and watching t.v. for the night with Aang sitting off to the side, consequentially near Katara. He didn't know why, but he felt rather comfortable around her, even though he had only known her for less than 12 hours.

Suddenly a huge, jaw splitting yawn engulfed Aang, and he suddenly felt very sleepy. Hearing him, Katara turned towards him and smiled gently once again.

"Tired?" she asked softly, although she couldn't blame him. He probably hadn't had a good night's sleep in a while, and it had been a long day.

The boy nodded, his eyes already beginning to droop heavily.

"Then c'mon," she said quietly, putting her hand behind his back and helping him up. She then looked over her shoulder, saying to her father in a low voice, "I'm going to put him to bed. I'll be back down in a minute."

He nodded in response.

It wasn't long before Katara and Aang had made their assent up the stairs, where Katara led him to a small bedroom with blue walls and a medium sized dresser with a lamp on top, which Katara turned on.

"You can have the guest room," she told him.

Aang nodded, and then he added, "Really, thanks for everything. I hate to feel like I'm a burden or something…"

"It's no problem, really," Katara cut him off. "Now get undressed, and I'll open the bed for you.

The boy hesitated for a minute, blushing, before he decided to heck with it and pulled his shirt and shoes off. With that being done, he crawled into the bed, groaning softly with pleasure. He had forgotten how soft and warm a bed was. Then, Aang reached up and pulled the blankets over himself and laid back, content.

Seeing that he was settled, Katara walked over to the lamp and turned it off, before heading over to the doorway. She turned around once she reached it, saying, "Goodnight."

"'Night," Aang answered, watching as she walked out of the room and shut the door behind her quietly.

With a sigh, Aang rolled over and shut his eyes, suddenly filled with a feeling of loneliness. The way Katara had put him to bed reminded him of his mother, and he still missed her…so much…

For the second time in 24 hours, the boy felt his eyes sting with tears, and once again he blinked them back. He wasn't going to cry. He didn't want to admit his mother was gone, not yet. Instead, Aang swallowed hard and rolled over fitfully onto his other side, trying to push his mother out of his mind. Now, he knew he would have to try harder than ever to keep his emotions inside himself, or else he would submit to them, and he didn't want that.

So instead, Aang focused on the warmth of the bed and the sound of his own heartbeat, and was soon sound asleep.

However, he was unaware that a certain girl had come up to check on him a few hours later, just to make sure that he was indeed asleep.

Katara opened the door to his room with a small creak, peeking through the crack. She was pleased when she saw that her young guest was sleeping peacefully, his figure bathed in the moonlight from the window above his bead. She smiled, watching the blankets rise and fall just slightly as he breathed. Satisfied, the girl closed the door just as quietly, retiring for her own room for the night.

ooo

Sunlight streamed in through Aang's window the next morning, prompting the boy gently into waking. He opened his eyes slowly, the heavy lids feeling sticky with sleep. He then sat up, looking out his window. The sun was high in the eastern sky, indicating that it was late morning.

Shaking his head to get rid of the cobwebs sleep left behind, Aang hopped out of bed and made his way over to his bag, which had been tossed on the floor the night before. He pulled the extra set of clothes out of it and crumpled them between his hands as he made his way downstairs, hoping that someone was home.

"Hello?" he called out hesitantly.

His call only echoed off the walls eerily. Aang sighed, wondering where everyone was. It was at that moment he caught sight of a note on the kitchen table. Curious, he walked over to it and picked it up, noticing that it was in Katara's handwriting.

_Aang,_

_At school. We'll be home around 2:00. There's some cereal in the cupboard, if you want some. And feel free to use the shower if you think you need it. The doors are locked, but you're not being held prisoner or anything. It's just so no one else gets in. Emergency numbers are by the phone. See you soon!_

_Katara_

Putting the note back down on the table, Aang realized that he probably did need a shower. The allies he had stayed before weren't exactly clean. And breakfast sounded pretty good right about now.

After hunting down what he needed and finishing off his breakfast, the boy made his way upstairs towards the shower. He shut the door behind him and threw his clothes on the floor before turning on the heat lamp, getting the bathroom warm. Then, he undressed and tossed the filthy clothes on the floor.

And at that moment, he caught sight of himself in the mirror. It was no wonder Katara said he didn't look good when she first saw him. His skin was paler, and he was slightly thinner than when he first set out. Also, his eyes were somewhat bloodshot, because he was still catching up on sleep, and his hair looked awfully dirty.

_What a difference two days can make, _Aang thought, frowning at his reflection and shaking his head in disapproval. Well, at least a shower might help. With that thought, the water was soon running, and the boy stepped inside, shivering with pleasure when the hot water beat down on his skin.

Needless to say, it was a long time before the water was turned off and Aang stepped out, feeling much better in a clean pair of clothes. Now, all he had to do was wait until Katara and Sokka got home, which would be a good few hours.

Slightly annoyed at this thought, the he made his way into the living room and sat down on the couch, wondering if there was anything good on t.v.

ooo

After a few wasted hours of flipping through channels of bad t.v, Aang thought he was hearing things when he heard the door handle clicked, signaling that someone was unlocking the door. Like a dog that hadn't seen its owner in years, Aang raced into the kitchen. At that moment, Katara appeared through the door, and Aang stopped barely in time, although he had managed to somehow have their chests touching when he stopped. A blush leaped to the boy's face and he backed away.

"Sorry," he apologized quickly.

"Its okay," the girl reassured him, "Were you okay by yourself?"

"Yeah…just fine," Aang told her.

Katara's blue eyes scanned up and down his body briefly, and she said, "You look better than you did yesterday."

Aang turned his head and mumbled, "Thanks."

"Hey!" Sokka called from behind his sister, "Are you going to move, or leave me standing out here all night?"

His sister shot him a steely look, saying sharply, "You know, the second option doesn't sound too bad right now." 

Sokka made an indignant noise, before Katara moved, quickly, nearly sending Sokka flat on his face. Aang had to bite his tongue to keep himself from laughing.

"Well," Katara suggested to Aang, "Since you've been inside all day, do you want to go and mess around town a bit? You know, see what there is to see?"

Aang shrugged, replying with, "Sounds good."

Sokka walked up stairs slowly, pausing to add, "You two lovebirds can go ahead. If you need me, you know where to find me."

Katara narrowed her eyes at him, annoyed at his teasing. Aang just blushed.

"C'mon, Aang," Katara told him quickly, grabbing the boy's hand and pulling him out the door, "Let's get out of here before my urge to rearrange my brother's face gets serious."

Aang merely followed, once again having to stifle a laugh.

ooo

The town was busy, as usual. People were returning home from work, and others were just hanging out. Katara was having a great time giving Aang the grand tour, since he told her he had never been here before.

"There's the bakery," Katara pointed out, her arm in front of Aang's face. He looked over in the direction she was pointing as she said, "My brother and I go there every Saturday morning for doughnuts. If you want, you can come with us tomorrow, since today is Friday."

"Sounds good," Aang said with a smile.

"Oh, and over there is the bookstore," she continued excitedly, pointing across the street. "I love going there. I'm kinda an avid bookworm, if you can't tell."

"That's okay," he told her, "I like to read too."

Katara's eyes lit up in a way that struck Aang as beautiful, but before she could reply, a loud high pitched mewing sound was heard. Both teens stopped, their heads turning to look down a dark alley.

"What is that?" Aang asked.

"I don't know," Katara answered, uncertain. "It sounded like a cat or something. Let's check it out."

She turned down the alley without hesitation. Aang followed, although he wasn't quite as confident as she was. Either way, they were walking down the alley, and the mewing sound kept getting louder.

"Aang, look, over there!" Katara said suddenly, her voice hushed.

Aang turned his head the way she was looking, and needless to say, the sight that met his eyes wasn't at all what he expected. A tiny kitten, probably only a few weeks old, was trapped on a high ledge above them. It had bright blue eyes and a white coat with a dark splash of brown on its face and rings of brown and white on its tail, and it's ears and eyes looked entirely too big for it's small face. The kitten cried out in terror, looking down on the both of them as if begging for help.

"We gotta help him," Katara said, her voice serious.

"You can give me a boost," Aang instructed, "It's not too high up."

The girl nodded, before she knelt down and Aang stepped onto her shoulders. Carefully, he reached out for the kitten with his hand, murmuring gently.

"Come here," he coaxed, "We won't hurt you. Come on."

The kitten hesitated, sniffing his fingers briefly, before it dove into his arms without a second thought and clung to the boy's shirt with tiny but sharp claws.

"Alright," Aang told Katara, "Let me down. I got him."

She complied, and when Aang got off her shoulders, she stood up straight and marveled at the tiny creature in her friend's arms. The kitten was currently purring, obviously quite content to stay where he was.

"Isn't he cute?" Katara cooed, scratching behind his ears. If it was possible, the purring grew louder.

"What are we going to do with him?" Aang asked, "We can't just leave him out here, he's so little. He's obviously been abandoned."

After pausing for a minute in thought, Katara decided, "We can take him home. I think it would be great to have a pet around the house. He can stay in your room for now, if you'd like."

Aang looked up at her, his grey eyes wide with surprise. "Really?"

"Of course," she said matter of factly, "You rescued him. He's yours."

"We both rescued him," Aang pointed out, "But okay."

Katara shivered, thoroughly freaked out by the atmosphere of the alley. "We have to get out of here. I don't like this place."

"Me neither," Aang agreed with her, "Let's go back to your house."

Katara nodded in agreement. Once they were out on the streets again, she asked, "So what are you going to name him?"

"Huh?" Aang said, confused.

"Name him," Katara elaborated, "He's going to need a name if he's going to stay with us."

"That's true," he muttered thoughtfully.

Aang paused, before he suggested, "How about Momo?"

"Momo," Katara repeated in thought, before she smiled and said approvingly, "Yeah, I like it. Momo it is."

"Momo," Aang repeated wistfully, looking down at the tiny cat nestled in his arms. Momo purred, feeling safe and happy.

ooo

It would be an understatement to say that Sokka was surprised to see their new house guest when Aang and Katara came home. In fact, he was furious. However, their father was a little more lenient, saying they could keep Momo as long as they took care of him.

And that night, when Aang had gotten himself situated into bed, Momo curled up against his chest, sharing his body heat. The boy smiled, listening to the rhythmic sound of the kitten's purring, and he was once again soon fast asleep.

And once again, Katara was there to check on him. The sight of the two of them curled so close together and sleeping soundly was enough to make the girl's heart melt. So, she quietly shut the door, satisfied.

ooo

Days passed, and with each day, Aang began to feel more and more like he was a part of the family. But the days were long too, when Katara and Sokka left for school, making Aang realize that he needed to continue with school as well. Even so, in the meantime, the boy would play with Momo, watching the kitten's antics with amusement. It always laughed when Momo would climb up the banister of the stairway, hang upside down and look through the poles that supported them. Or, when he would play with the tassels on a few pillows.

However, despite the fact that Aang felt like he was part of a family again and he knew he should be happy, he wasn't. Being a part of a family like this only made him think of his mother all the more, and how she wasn't here to share this with him. He knew he was close to breaking, so he began to spend more and more time away from his new family.

Needless to say, they were getting more than a little worried about how he closed himself off, especially Katara. The girl began to think that it had something to do with his past. She finally decided to confront him on the matter, surprised when he didn't come down for supper.

It would be an understatement to say she was nervous. But at the same time, Katara was filled with more courage than she had had in a long time. She was finally ready to solve the mystery that was Aang, and it was going to be now or never.

Quietly and carefully, Katara made her way up the stairs, pausing before she entered Aang's room. The boy was sitting on his bed, staring out the window with Momo nuzzling his arm, obviously sensing something was wrong.

Katara took a deep breath, before she said in a tentative voice, "Aang?"

Aang jumped. He hadn't even heard her come in. However, even after she had spoken his name, he didn't turn around to acknowledge her.

"Aang," Katara said again, more firmly, "What's the matter? You haven't come down for supper."

There was a pause, before he mumbled, "Not hungry."

It was at this moment when he didn't say anything else for a few minutes that Katara took the initiative to sit down on his bed near him. She hesitated for a few more seconds, before she placed her hand on his shoulder, feeling him shudder under her touch.

"We're worried about you," she said gently. "You've been really…distant lately, and I just want to know why."

When he didn't answer, Katara tried a different approach.

"Are you unhappy living here?"

"It's not that," Aang told her, turning around and surprising Momo off the bed, "I'm happy here, I really am. It's just…"

"What?" Katara asked.

Aang shook his head and bowed it. "I can't."

"Aang please," Katara tried again, "I just want to help. But I can't do that if you won't let me in."

The boy opened his mouth, and then closed it, torn between pleasing Katara and his own will. He could feel the tears coming, hot and burning his eyes, screaming to escape after being kept inside for so long. Finally, wracked with sorrow, he lifted his head sharply and Katara gasped in surprised.

"My mother…" Aang choked, his throat tightening, "She…she…someone killed her. And then…they were going to send me away."

Katara's featured softened into sympathy and sadness at hearing his story and seeing him cry. Her heart ached for him.

"I couldn't let them," Aang continued, the tears running down his face, "So I ran away. And then I met you."

"Aang…" Katara murmured sympathetically, wrapping her arms around him. She could see how badly he wanted to cry. And maybe that's just what he needed. Either way, the boy didn't hesitate to throw his arms around his friend with a sob.

"I didn't want to cry," Aang told her, although he could barely get the words out because his throat felt so clogged with emotion, "I didn't want to feel…_anything_…I didn't want to admit that my mother was…was…That's why I stayed away from you…because…it reminded me of being with my mother….and…and…"

A wave of sobs cut him off, and he clung to Katara even tighter. The girl began to stroke his back in soothing circles, murmuring softly to him.

"Shh," she crooned, "Its okay Aang. I know how you feel. I lost my mother too, when I was eight."

Aang didn't stop. If anything, her statement only made him cry harder.

"Just like you," Katara continued, tears filling her own eyes at the memory, "I never thought I would get over it, but I refused to cry. I didn't want to admit my mother was gone either. But I finally did. I cried, and my father was there to hold me. And after I cried, I found that the pain was easier to deal with. You will too, I promise. Its okay, Aang. Shh…"

Her words may have gotten through to him, but Katara wasn't sure. Either way, Aang cried harder than he felt he had ever cried in his life, for his mother, for Katara's mother, and for all the pain and sorrow he felt, all of it bleeding out of him.

They must have sat there for a good few hours, because the moon was in the sky when Aang was finally silent. Looking down at his face, Katara realized that he had cried himself to sleep and that he was lying heavily against her. After letting her grip on him relax, she leaned forward and tenderly kissed his forehead, happy that he was finally at peace with himself.

Looking up out the window, Katara saw a star shoot across the heavens, and she smiled, knowing that both her and Aang's mothers were at peace as well.

**A/N: What a ride! My longest oneshot yet! Well, let me know if you all like it or not. See ya! **


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